Why Sapphic Fiction?

We all want love, don’t we? We might joke about it, call it sappy or soft or unrealistic, but every single one of us wants love, even if it’s just love of self. That’s why romance sells. It sells more than any other type of fiction; depending on who you ask, romance accounts for anywhere between twenty and thirty percent of all book sales. Amazing.

So the cynical among you might say that I write romance because it’s a strong market and I can make more money that way. Sorry to disappoint, but I won’t be giving up the day job just yet. Being a shiny new indie author isn’t going to bring in millions any time soon.

You might also ask what business a man has writing fiction about Women loving Women – sapphic fiction. It’s not as if there’s a shortage of stories that could be told about straight couples and their tangled love lives.

Well then, if it’s not for the money, and it’s not for the lack of heteronormative stories, why do it? It’s actually really simple. I was lucky enough to stumble over a book by a German author, Jae, called Perfect Rhythm (if you haven’t read it,  I highly recommend you do, it’s a fabulous book). As I read it, I found myself with a growing sense of contentment, something I had never experienced before reading a book. Sure, I've read a lot over the years, devoured books even, but never had anything else touched me the way that book did.

So, like any burgeoning addict, I went looking for more. I found more authors who fed my soul with stories of love and passion crafted with true emotional intelligence. I tried standard romance novels, but nothing caught me, nothing held me like sapphic fiction. I’m several years into my addiction now, averaging a book every day or day and a half. Carrie Byrd, Clare Ashton, T.B. Markinson and Miranda MacLeod have been added to my must read lists, along with jae and others (again, if you haven’t read Carrie Byrd’s latest book, The Second Draft, get it now. It’s one of the best books I’ve read ever).

So that’s why sapphic fiction. Because, even as a man, it speaks to me in a way no other genre ever has. We all need love in our lives. Go find some in the pages of a book.